Gator Country

Moreno Valley, Calif. (Rancho Verde HS) defensive end Ronald Powell announces his verbal commitment to play at the University of Florida during the U.S. Army All-American Bowl on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio. / Gator Country photo by Tim Casey

SAN ANTONIO -- I've said it since I first saw him working out at a summer camp in Gainesville -- if there's a better prospect in the country than Ronald Powell, I'd like to see him.

Powell once again showed his versatility by excelling at defensive end this week in San Antonio, and throwing in a 23-yard touchdown catch over future Gator teammate Jaylen Watkins during the first quarter of the Army All-American Bowl held at the Alamodome. He later added a sack from defensive end and also ran back a blocked PAT for two points.

Anybody want to argue with me after former Heisman Trophy winner Pete Dawkins of Army presented him with the Most Valuable Player award from the game, won by his West team 30-14.

Powell made a fourth-quarter commitment to the Gators, choosing Florida over Southern California and donning a Florida cap before doing a Gator chomp. His commitment announcement gave Florida three commitments from the game. Earlier, defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd of Philadelphia and Dwyer High School athlete Matt Elam gave their verbal commitments to coach Urban Meyer’s team.Florida now has 24 verbal commitments in its Class of 2010 that becomes official when they all sign national letters of intent on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010.

Despite pulling their old hat trick and throwing a scare into Florida fans for a few brief seconds, Powell’s intentions to spend next fall in Gainesville never really seemed to be in doubt over the past month or so.

Ranked as the third-overall prospect in the country by ESPN’s Scouts Inc., Powell spent most of his time this season playing middle linebacker and tight end at Rancho Verde High School. He is expected to make the full-time transition to defensive end at Florida. After watching his catch in the first half of Saturday’s game and his 100-yard sprint with the blocked PAT, Steve Addazio might have to find a way to get him involved on offense, however.

Scouts Inc. evaluation: Powell is a pretty good football player. Looks to be a fairly-well-rounded prospect because he has nice size, a good motor and a good feel for the game. Seems like a high school version of the type of player that would be coveted by the New England Patriots. He plays defensive end, but could fit as an end in a 4-3 scheme or as an outside linebacker in a 3-4 and you like the versatility to his game. He is pretty solid versus the run and pass. Displays the ability to come off the ball low and get leverage. He will shoot his hands and can stand up a bigger offensive tackle and establish his ground. Displays the strength to separate and shed. Displays the football instincts to sniff out plays and not run out of position. Displays the ability to come across the ball, stay square and squeeze down. A solid tackler with a good motor. Really seems to hustle around and will work to get in on the play, even if initially he looks to have been taken out of it. Takes solid pursuit angles and displays good speed for his size. Can seem just a tad rigid in his movement at times. He is a productive and heady pass-rusher off the edge. Displays the size and strength to turn into a blocker and bull his way back. Also displays a consistent ability to formulate a plan to attack blockers. Has a solid spin move and looks very comfortable working the rip to get by blockers. While he is a savvy pass-rusher, he has an adequate get-off and you would like to see him be just a little quicker off the ball. Overall, Powell is a good football player. He combines size with ability and a solid understanding of how to play the game and be successful. His overall package as a player will make him a highly sought after prospect in this class.

Here’s what Craig Haubert of Scouts, Inc. had to say following Florida’s Saturday trifecta in San Antonio: “Maybe Urban Meyer should announce he is taking a leave of absence more often because what looked like may have been an issue for the No. 1 ranked class is turning out to not even be a speed bump. In fact despite that news and the loss of a couple of coaches, the Gators seem to be kicking things into high gear on the recruiting trail. Last week they added two Under Armour All-Americans and today at the U.S. Army All-America Bowl they just added defensive tackle Sharrif Floyd, Matt Elam and Ronald Powell.”